”Lowering the standards for permits to join the European Union (EU)- is not possible,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. He proposed the formation of a European political community, which would enable the EU to co-operate with other non-member European communities that would like to become one. We checked whether the formation of such a community is realistic and how it could affect Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)?
Taking into account the urgent situation in Ukraine and other countries that intend to join the EU, the French president called for the creation of a “European political community.”
”Due to its struggle and courage, Ukraine is already a member of Europe, our family, and the Union. But even if they receive candidate status tomorrow, the process has begun and I hope we are moving towards accession. We also all know that the accession process could take several years, in fact, it would probably take several decades,” Macron said.
”I don’t think it will take decades for Ukraine to become an EU member. Perhaps the most recent examples or the example that is somehow closest to us are Bulgaria and Romania, which were members of the Eastern Bloc, which became full members of the EU and NATO because EU membership is primarily a matter of political will,” stated Zijad Becirovic from the International Institute for the Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) International Institute.
There is no political will in BiH for now, and what benefits could it have from the formation of the European Community?
”It is quite certain that BiH would gain in the sense that it would be shown that BiH has politically accepted to remain on the path to the EU. But what is required for EU membership remains and even becomes stricter, because this is a substitute for those who are not yet ready to join the EU, to stay in the European story,” political analyst Milos Solaja points out.
”The French president’s statement is rather vague, so he is proposing a new concept about which we know virtually nothing, except for some kind of conditionally speaking, associated partnership. We need to see what that means, but I think that at this moment it is not certain that the majority within the EU would be willing to talk, let alone accept that concept, that is first-class membership, or second-class candidate status,”says journalist Ranko Mavrak.
There are other tendencies within the EU, and they are reduced to what Slovenian President Borut Pahor said during his stay in Sarajevo. He believes that it would be good to give candidate status to countries like BiH, and then insist that the criteria set by the European Commission earlier be met. And the position of the European Commission (EC) is that 14 priorities must be realized in order to talk about full candidate status with a minimum condition, and these are the adoption of three laws: the Law on High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), the Law on Conflict of Interest, and the Law on Public Procurement.
”I think that if we adopt these three laws, then we could expect candidate status, without fulfilling the priorities, because it is really difficult to fulfill all 14 priorities that we got from the opinion of the EC,” emphasizes Haris Plakalo, Secretary-General of the EU Movement.
In order for BiH to remain in the European story, it is necessary for those who make and implement decisions in BiH to take a step and show interest and to be classified as a credible partner of the EU, and that has not happened to date and, apparently, will not happen soon, BHRT writes.
E.Dz.
